The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Susan looked at Ivan, trying to hide her irritation. She decided that if he wasn't a prince, she would probably have called him an idiot to his face, but since he was a prince, she had to refrain from saying it out loud.

Her father looked at her for a moment without saying a word. He knew his kids, and he knew how sharp they both were, especially Susan, who could be very mischievous. What he was trying to figure out now was if Ivan's allegation had anything to do with the reason she was saying she wanted to remain in the palace and didn't want to get married yet.

"Isn't Prince Harold's guard the one who showed us to our chamber?" He asked, and Ivan gave him a nod.

Now that it was being discussed, he remembered noticing how she had kept looking back while they were talking. Was the guard the reason for all of that?

"Is it true that you are involved with him?" Her father asked calmly when she said nothing.

"As I already said, father, I was only pointing out the truth. You taught us not to turn a blind eye to injustice, and that is what I did. If I didn't speak, Prince Harold's guard was going to get punished merely for protecting Princess Amber. I'm sure if I was the one being treated that way, you would appreciate the servant stepping in to defend me," Susan said, and Ivan glared at her.

Unable to stay still anymore, the Queen, who had been waiting for her brother to say something meaningful, looked at Susan with displeasure, annoyed that Susan was speaking about injustice as though they were the unjust ones.

"Whether or not Ivan was right, he is your cousin. Your loyalty should be with him and not with our enemies. Did you not know that already?" The Queen asked coldly.

Susan was almost tempted to ask what she had done to Tyra, who was all over the so-called enemy, 'Prince Harold' and preferred him over her own biological brother, Ivan, but once again, because she was the queen, Susan had to keep her opinion to herself.

Susan's mother looked at her with mild disapproval before looking at the Queen, "I'm sorry, my queen..."

"Being sorry is not enough! Both your children are taking the enemy's side..." Ivan cut in but snapped his mouth shut when the Queen glared at him.

If he wasn't her only living son, she would have abandoned him long ago for his unruliness and foolishness. He didn't seem to know when to speak and when not to speak, and that irritated her more than she could say.

"What do you mean by that? What did Williams do?" Their father asked, turning to look at Williams, who had been silent the whole time.

He knew that if he didn't speak first, either the Queen or Prince Ivan was going to say something that might put Paulina in trouble. He stepped forward, deciding to beat them to it. "Princess Amber's maid is in charge of cleaning my painting room, and she sometimes attends to me when I paint. Prince Ivan asked me to get close to her and get information..."

"You asked my son to get close to a slave? A human slave?" Their father asked with displeasure as he glared at Ivan and then turned to his sister with angry eyes, "Tell me you didn't know about this."

Although she was the Queen, but as a woman, her authority was limited. She knew how powerful her brother was, and she also knew that they needed him on their side, so she couldn't afford to offend him. "Brother, it is not what you think, I..."

"It isn't? I left my children in your care, trusting you to watch over them, and this is the report I get? If you don't mind, I would like to speak with my children alone," he said, making it clear that he wanted her and Ivan to excuse them.

The Queen gritted her teeth before heading for the door, and Ivan followed, annoyed that his mother was allowing her brother to be rude to them."

Is it true? Are you involved with Prince Harold's guard?" Susan's father asked, watching her very closely to detect any trace of a lie in her words.

"Of course not, father. I would never do something like that," Susan said indignantly, and judging by the way her father relaxed after watching her for a moment, he believed her.

"It had better remain that way," he said to her before turning to Williams. "I don't care what your cousin or the queen said to you, I want you to stay away from that human servant. Get someone else to clean your painting room."

*******

"You came," Alicia said when she opened the door and saw Harold standing there.

Her surprise made him confused, and he looked at her intensely as he walked into her room and shut the door behind him.

"I said I was going to." He reminded her.

"Of course. I just... didn't think you'd come back." She said honestly and sat on the bed where she had been before he knocked.

"Why?" He asked, as he went to sit down beside her.

"I don't know. I mean, everyone is kind of busy and you have guests to attend to, so I just wasn't expecting you, I suppose." She shrugged.

He felt there was more to it, but he didn't push her to explain and just looked at the piece of paper and brush on the bed beside the book.

"What were you doing?" He asked while looking at the strange thing she drew.

"I got bored, so I decided to draw." She said as she picked up the piece of paper. "I'm not very good at drawing, but I wanted to do something to pass the time, and then I remembered I promised to show you a few of the things we have in the future. So I made a drawing of a gun first, since I think you will be more interested in that," she turned the paper over to him to show off her drawing proudly.

The good thing was that he had no idea what an actual gun looked like, so he wouldn't be able to tell.

He looked at the drawing closely, and his brows pulled together as he said, "Why do I feel this is not what it actually looks like? You are bad at drawing?" He asked curiously.

Why did he have to be too smart?

"It's really like this. They are different types. This is just a handgun, and do not underestimate it. One bullet in your head and you're down."

"Have you ever used it before?" He asked, looking at her.

"I have operated one with blank bullets before. During a movie shoot. I acted as a cop."

"A cop?"

"A police. Like... a warrior but—"

"You? A warrior?" He asked, almost laughing.

"Hey! Do not look down on me! I am very talented and can pull off any role easily." She said defensively.

"What's your favourite role ever?" He asked as he adjusted and placed his back on the headboard and folded his arms across his chest.

She also sat on the bed with her legs folded like she was about to meditate while facing him.

"Hmm... I think when I acted in a historical drama. I was a villain who eventually became a queen. It was so exciting. That's the drama that made my popularity soar. And the media wouldn't just stop talking about me for months, even after the drama aired."

Initially, she was excited as she talked about it, but as she remembered how the same media treated her afterwards, her mood deflated.

"Executioner," Harold said, getting her attention and making her raise her head to look at him in confusion.

"What I wanted to be. You asked me last night." He said calmly, trying to pull her out of her thoughts.

"Executioner? As in... someone who executes people?" She asked, a mixture of confusion and disbelief on her face. When Harold nodded to her question, her eyes widened slightly and she gulped. Well, she didn't have to be surprised. Nothing here should surprise her anymore, right?

"Uhm... that is..."

"You don't like that." He stated while he kept watching her.

"That is still... cool... I guess?"

"You are a bad liar, Princess."

"I'm sorry." Alicia laughed awkwardly. She just could not hide her surprise at the career choice.

"Why... that? I mean, you have the right to choose whatever you want to become, but I'm just curious why you chose that."

He shrugged again. "I always imagined being able to kill all my enemies like that. I used to admire the chief executioner when I was little."

Okay, that was just crazy. "You... no longer wish to be that, right?" She asked hopefully.

When he nodded, she sighed in relief, "I'm glad you no longer think of being that."

"Yes. That is because I don't have to be an executioner to kill whoever I want to." He said with a smile that startled her.

"HEY! You don't have to sound so scary every time. That startled me!" She said, exasperated.

Harold put his head down and smiled. Seeing him smile, she hoped he was just messing with her.

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be busy or something?" She asked him curiously.

He raised his head to look at her and was quiet for a moment before he asked her seriously, "Why do you think I'm here instead of outside doing something else?"